Participation and presentation of Erasmus+ opportunities in the fields of youth and sport at the Ukrainian Youth Forum 2024 (10-12.08.2024, Kyiv)
On August 10-12, 2024, the Presidential Youth Council in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine and with the support of international partners, including the Council of Europe project “Youth for Democracy in Ukraine: Phase III” held the annual Ukrainian Youth Forum 2024 ‘Free to Dream!’.
Over 300 active young people, youth workers, and representatives of the government and international organizations gathered on International Youth Day at the Free to Dream Ukrainian youth forum to discuss the vision for the future of youth policy in Ukraine.
For three days, the forum participants exchanged experiences and discussed the concept of the Youth of Ukraine State Targeted Social Programme for 2026-2030 – the main vision document for the development of youth policy in Ukraine.
Throughout the event, young people had the chance to learn more about programmes and opportunities for implementing their ideas and projects. During the opportunities fair, participants discovered best practices in youth work, including those supported by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Ukraine.
As part of the workshops and working groups, UNDP in Ukraine gathered together young people to play the Integrity Dilemmas game, introducing them to the principles of integrity and anti-corruption.
The forum culminated in discussions between participants and government representatives responsible for shaping youth policy in Ukraine. Furthermore, young people had the chance to meet and talk with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, Verkhovna Rada Chairman Ruslan Stefanchuk, and Head of the Presidential Office Andriy Yermak.
The Ukrainian youth forum was organized by the Youth Council under the President of Ukraine in cooperation with the Ministry of Youth and Sports of Ukraine. The event was supported by UNDP in Ukraine as part of the EU4Recovery project, financially backed by the European Union, and the Support to Civil Society and Youth project, funded by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Denmark.
During the event, Kateryna ZHDANOVA, NEO – Ukraine, provided presentation on the opportunities of the Erasmus+ Program for active youth and youth organizations. The speaker presented the EU Erasmus+ Program, key areas, directions and priorities, focusing on new competitions for youth and sports capacity building.
The presentation provided clear recommendations on registering the profile of organizations on the key portals of the Program, call pages, peculiarities on application forms, requirements for partnerships, preparing an additional package of documents and expected results. Additionally, the speaker drew attention to the existing experience of cooperation between Ukrainian and European partners to build new consortia, learn from experience and further synergies.
At the end of the event, the participants shared their success stories and experiences, and received answers to their questions.